MORE than 700 patients will be forced to wait longer for elective surgery after the Royal Melbourne Hospital announced it would scale back operations in response to the Federal Government's funding cuts.

Melbourne Health board chairman Robert Doyle said $8.4 million had been sliced out of its budget this year as part of the $107 million Commonwealth funding reduction, which was based on revised population data.

"If this continues, it's 1100 people a year who will be affected by these federal budget cuts and I don't think that's acceptable," Cr Doyle said.

The Royal Melbourne Hospital's executive director, Diane Gill, said it would extend the planned Christmas/New Year closure of elective surgery in-patient beds and reduced theatre capacity from January to February.

It will also close one of the 12 operating theatres, which means 10 less operating sessions each week, and shut 12 short-stay beds and 33 overnight beds. If the hospital cannot reopen the beds and resume the theatre sessions, it will lead to 700 fewer elective surgery cases by the end of the financial year.

Ms Gill said the measures would not affect urgent patients, but she was hopeful of a speedy resolution because of concern about the impact on patients and staff.

A spokesman for Health Minister Tanya Plibersek said the Commonwealth had increased its health funding to Victoria over the next four years and it was up to the Baillieu Government to decide how to distribute the money.

Eastern, Northern, Southern, Barwon and Austin health services, the Royal Children's Hospital and the Royal Women's Hospital all warn that they will have to implement a range of measures to claw back funds, including elective surgery slowdowns, bed closures and staff recruitment freezes.

A spokeswoman for the Royal Women's said it had to find $2 million, which would affect elective surgery.